


In which Yeeting a Flare at a Wolverine Ends up Being A Bad Idea Mostly

by RedTailedHawks



Series: a study in love and the things we do for it [2]
Category: Far Cry 5
Genre: F/M, Gen, Mentions of canon typical violence, Sam Rook, mentions of Wheaty
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-14
Updated: 2019-08-14
Packaged: 2020-08-23 07:11:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,729
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20238814
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RedTailedHawks/pseuds/RedTailedHawks
Summary: So you think you can out run a wolverine and not get Eli angry at you at the same time...





	1. The Actual Throwing of a Flare at a Wolverine

**Author's Note:**

> questions answered at deputysamr00k on tumblr

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes to avoid spiraling you have to do something stupidly idiotic, there's no way around it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m incapable of making things pure funny. everything I touch turns into sad times I guess.

Sam had high tailed it out of Faith’s region after a particularly bad encounter with her. The hairs on the back of her neck stood straight at the memory of the wind against her skin. Of taking a step too far trying to reach for her and finding the ground replaced by nothing but thin air. 

It was a feeling Sam was all too familiar with. Desperately reaching for faith and only getting thrown off balance. But she stopped looking for a reason to believe in God a long time ago. Faith being able to bring that part of her back with a little blow and a charming smile made her more intimidating than any of the other Seed’s put together. 

The bliss never let her go long enough for her to get her bearings, a feeling so familiar. So reminiscent of her time in between tours, of her time before Hope County that she just didn’t want to--  _ couldn’t _ remember. She wondered with a chill wrapping around her entire body if Faith had even been there, if she could make Sam do all of that,  _ feel _ like that with a few simple words and a little blow. Sam couldn’t really figure out what was more disturbing, Faith never having been there and having so much power over her or Faith having full access to a drugged up Sam. 

Sam waxed philosophical all the way down until she hit the ground. Or did she ever begin to fall?

In the darkness, the pain, the  _ need _ for more, Sam heard Sharky’s voice break through it all.

“Dep? Dep? Sam? Come on, wake up.” He shook her as hard as he dared and when she finally seemed to regain control of herself she shot up. Eyes open wide and frantically searching the area for any sign of Faith. Satisfied, Sam wrapped her arms around Sharky and let herself be vulnerable for a moment. Sam hid her face against his shoulder and let him talk. The spike of adrenaline and bliss finally, finally letting her go as she shook in his arms.

For all Sharky said dumb shit, he wasn’t dumb. He was perceptive. More emotionally intelligent than Sam could ever hope to be. And he knew, that right now, what Sam needed most was a distraction. Something to take her away from her body screaming at her for more drug.  _ More more more.  _ She’s never been one for moderation. 

“Wanna go blow up that stupid ugly ass statue of daddy joe? Auntie Adelaide would let us use her chopper to do it. Or we could steal one,” he suggested with his usual grin in place. Sam shook her head. It’s not that she didn’t want to, it’s that right now the thought of being so high up in the air roiled up her stomach. Opened up the highway for vomit town. 

She stood and Sharky followed. Once in the car, after a short fight on who should be driving, Sam hit the gas pedal down the familiar road. The one that would take her to her cabin. But more importantly in Jacob’s region and to the Wolf’s Den. The zzt skirted to a stop in front of her home. But she didn’t even bother going in, simply grabbed her stuff and finished the hike up to the Wolf’s Den. 

And all of that set Sam in one of the recreational areas at the wolf’s den staring down a bottle of booze. Freshly showered, and entirely too ready to fuck up any and all progress the sobriety chip she kept in one of her many pockets represented. Of course Sharky was there watching her like a fucking hawk. Ready to swoop in if she even moved to grab the bottle and chug. 

Sam was faster than him.  _ Stronger --  _ “I need some fresh air.”

“Great, I’ll go with y-”

“Alone, Sharks,” Sam said as gently as possible, “I’ll be fine. Promise. Just need to be alone. You can pat me down if you like.”

“Now, dep, you know I ain’t one pass off a good pat down from no pretty lady,” Sharky warned, “I ain’t sayin’ I don’t trust you. It’s just-- you just got out of Faith’s region, and you seemed shaken by the whole thing. I don’t want none of Jacob’s little murder dogs getting a good bite in because you’re still distracted and--”

“I’ll take the bear,” Sam interrupted. Sharky seemed satisfied with that answer and sat back down.

The softness of the forested mountains did wonders for Sam’s state of mind once she was free of the sickeningly sweet smell of Bliss. The birds chirping and the animals rustling about served as a distraction for Sam. Keeping her away from the low thrumming of  _ more, more, more _ and pulling her more toward the thought of maybe catching the giant diabetic bear some fish. A good deterrent, Sam found out early on, from playing Let’s Maul the Deputy. 

She’s a few minutes into her walk when she sees it. It, in return, stopped in its place and turned to stare at her. They stood like that for a while, a stand off between two equal opponents. The Wolverine turned it’s back to her. Fucking about with a plant, or something it previously hid. It’s a moment’s decision, a tip of the scales of survival. A lapse of judgement. Sam Rook’s last brain cell making a snap decision in a moment of quiet where it has decided no more. She’s been making too many sound judgements. Sam wasn’t going to drown herself in alcohol so this was it.

_ Her time to shine. _

In a swift movement the flare was out and burning. Cheeseburger stared on in contempt, knowing full well what was about to happen in the next few seconds and yet this did nothing to stop her. There was no reason or rhyme behind it, but Sam threw the fucking flare in the direction of the wolverine and watched it land on the wolverine’s back, startling, hurting, and angering the thing in the span of a mere second. The fight that ensued was primal. It lunged at her with a yowl, an accusation  _ how dare you _ . Any mercy the animal felt for Sam at the beginning of their standoff vanished into thin air. Sam eventually named herself the victor with a knock from optimism, but at what cost?

“You’re absolutely no fucking help,” Sam told Cheeseburger. He huffed as if he understood the insult and simply didn’t care. The gashes going across her stomach were deep, oozing blood in a steady flow and she considered sitting there and doing nothing to stop it. She dragged herself into a sitting position and rested her back against the base of a tree. Her legs splayed out on either side of the wolverine’s carcass. 

She stared at her pack a foot or two away, having fallen when the wolverine snapped one of the straps. Sam knew she would have to stretch and reach for it if she wanted to stop the bleeding. The little sinister bug at the back of her head that told her to drink herself into a ditch giggled and laughed at her. Taunted her. Whatever hint of a good mood dying in its clutches as she bled out against a tree. She took a deep breath and shoved the bug to the back of her mind, focusing instead on braving herself for the pain she was about to create for herself as she rocked forward reaching for her daypack. 

Sam froze, arm outstretched and head snapped up at where she could hear frantic footsteps, and out of the woods appeared Eli Palmer. The look of God’s Fury on his face. Paler than usual and absolutely furious. 

“Are you some kind of fucking wizard how did you find me, why are you pissed?” Sam asked she narrowed her eyes and did her best to pretend she was fine despite very obviously not being so. 

“We saw everything through the security tape,” Eli grit out and crouched down next to her. He pushed Sam gently against the tree again to inspect her wound. His lips, already hidden by the fucking beard practically disappeared in contempt. “You fucking dumbass. Why did you do that?”

“I needed to assert my dominance over the landscape.” for all she was joking around, she was serious. Sam needed to regain some semblance of control over herself. Was it achieved? Absolutely not. Did she care anymore? Probably. 

Eli rolled his eyes and picked her up without warning. Sam yelped in surprise and pain. He started the trek to the Wolf’s Den as she complained, “hey! My backpack, no. Stop that. Eli my backpack!”

“I’ll send someone for it.” 


	2. Mountain Man Angry at Local Dumbass

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes you just gotta do what the Mountain Man tells you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> questions answered at deputysamr00k on tumblr

The first time Sam woke up at the Wolf’s Den she remembered thinking Tammy Barnes was a smart woman and everyone else she chose to interact with (Eli) needed to take a page out of Tammy’s very suspicious book. Sam wasn’t to be trusted. Not anymore, maybe not ever. She was reliable sure. Sam could admit she had some damn redeeming qualities, she wasn’t entirely self loathing. But at the end of the day everyone knew her brain was a hellscape before the whole conditioning shit. But now? There were some thoughts in her head so disturbing she would never know whether or not they were actually hers. 

Eli, almost thankfully, chose to ignore every single red flag Sam waved around in his face from the moment he laid eyes on her forward. Otherwise she would be bleeding out in the forest by herself with only a fat diabetic bear to care for her and not bleeding out on the cot Eli dumped her on so he could at the very least, stop the bleeding and stitch her up. A lucky gal indeed.

“I’ve seen you walk off almost impossible hits,” Eli grunted, “and yet it’s a fucking wolverine that takes you down? One you goaded by the way.” 

“Kicking a girl while she’s down I see,” Sam flinched when Eli pressed down a little too hard. For all she pretended to be tough and indestructible she was still human, and liable to reckless behavior. So maybe she shouldn’t have shot a flare directly at a wolverine. Miraculously it was leaving her the hell alone before she decided death by wolverine was a fun way to go. Of course, she was wrong. Whoever said Sam Rook was smart needed to have a five second conversation with her. 

“I wouldn’t have believed it if we hadn’t seen it on the security tape,” Eli muttered. Mostly he was pissed off. Sam was injured and for the moment was no longer a useful tool for the resistance. “What the hell were you thinking?”

“That I could take it. Stupid wolverine—”

“Stupid you, Sam, you gave me a fucking heart attack when you didn’t get back up.”

“Aw,” Sam grinned at him. She lifted her head a bit to get a good look at him. He was staring intently at the work his hands were doing. She remembered this as well. 

When she first woke up she was greeted with Eli’s face. With those pretty pretty eyes, brow furrowing in worry. She found the beard suited him well, something she usually wouldn’t care for. And when she finally got a look at him in action... christ almighty, she’d had better things to do but ogle at him using that bow of his. Now those incredibly focused eyes and precise hands were focused on her. She wanted to do something about it but she doubted Eli would reciprocate.    
She forgot the joke she was going to make. Something sinister that she knew would fire Eli up. 

“You shouldn’t worry about me Palmer, I always come out on top.”

“Yeah when you’re opponent is dead on top isn’t always that far away. I quite like you when you’re alive and not dying.” There was tension in his voice that made her so incredibly curious. She wanted to poke and prod and pull, she could. It would be so easy, she used to do it all the time. A little smile here, a little touch there. A comment, a compliment, an innocuous conversation with someone who didn’t know she wanted anything from them. But the thought of manipulating Eli into revealing something important, something he’s not willing to share left a taste in her mouth so putrid she didn’t even want to think about it anymore. 

She doesn’t know how Jakey wants her to kill Eli when he’s her biggest weakness. There’s a lot she’s willing to do for the man patching her up, she would rather Jacob killed her than hurt Eli. 

“Yeah, yeah,” Sam grunted while trying to act entirely unaffected. “Can’t save the county if I’m dead.”

“Is that what you think I’m saying when I ask you not to die?” Eli asked incredulously. No, but Sam can’t handle the truth of what he’s asking of her. She doesn’t answer. “Sam—“

“You done?” She interrupted. Forced herself to sit up only to be stopped by the same two hands that fixed her up. He lets his grip on her loosen. Free’s up one of his hands to guide her head toward his own from beneath her chin. Forces her to have nowhere else to look but directly at him. His eyes searching for an answer Sam doesn’t want to give. 

“Hey,” Eli said sternly soft, “look at me.”

It’s not order or a demand but a request.  _ See what I have to offer _ . So she did. His eyes, as always, were gentle. Sam wondered what she had to do to get that same cold calculating stare she knew he’s capable of. It’s nothing like Tammy who made her feel like a child all over again. Or Wheaty who wanted to ask a million questions but didn’t want to push her away. Excitement at every little thing she deemed him worthy of knowing about her.  _ It’s gentle _ . Like she’s a delicate little thing. 

Eli Palmer looked at her like he already knew everything he needed to know and it scared her that he might. 

“You are not a tool for me to use, you aren’t disposable. I want you alive Sam because I—“

God bless Sharky Boshaw. Who Sam forgot she brought along with her and left at the Wolf’s Den while she went out for a quick breather with the damn bear. 

“Deputy? Dep! You alive in there? Heard ya got mauled by a wolverine again. Just wanted t’make sure you were fine. Can’t have the second half of this buddy cop movie dyin’ before the climax.” 

“You’re not a cop,” Sam said plainly. She half wanted to kill him and half wanted to ignore him in favor of getting Eli back in her personal space. Fire and moth and all that jazz. 

Sam stood up with a grunt and limped over to where the door was locked. Moving her right leg exacerbated the wound across her abdomen but she’d be damned if she let it show too much. She pulled the door open and moved around to let Sharky in. 

“Aww, dep don’t ruin my fun,” Sharky teased. He didn’t move to help her only because he knew she wouldn’t accept it and would only make her injuries worse. For all he joked Sam knew he was really worried. 

“I don’t want you going out and poking the bear while you’re injured,” Eli told her, “I’ll tie you to that bed and keep a guard on you all damn day if you even try to leave the den before being cleared.” 

“Kinky!” Sharky crowed, “just how you like ‘em, dep.”

Sam’s face heated up at the comment and while she knew she couldn’t chase after Sharky lest Eli go through on his promise, she glared at his retreating self. 

“Fuck off, Boshaw,” Sam called after him as Eli chuckled behind her. Guided her slowly back to the bed for her to rest. 

“If you’re not here when I come back I’m taking a leaf out of Jacob’s book and sending a search party after you.” 

Sam scrunched her nose in distaste the comparison. Eli was nothing like that little bitch. 

“Don’t get your little boxer briefs in a bunch. I’ll be here.” 


End file.
